FLUSHING, N.Y. – Old Dominion junior Carlos Lopez Villa is set to compete this weekend at the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships at the USTA Billie Jean National King Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Action is slated to begin on Thursday, Nov. 7 and run through its conclusion on Sunday, Nov. 10. Lopez Villa became just the second male Monarch in school history to win a Regional Single’s crown and the first ever since the ITA downsized to only 12 regions to qualify for this prestigious National event.

In the Round of 32 on Thursday, ODU's nationally ranked No. 59 Lopez Villa (Jr./Madrid, Spain) will take on No. 115 Samir Iftikhar (Jr./United Kingdom) from New Mexico. The winner of the match will go on to face the winner of the Diego Galeano (Baylor) vs. six-seed and nationally ranked No. 74, Clay Thompson of UCLA in the Round of 16.

On Oct. 22, Lopez Villa upended fifth-seeded Alexis Heugas of VCU (6-3,6-3) in the USTA/ITA Regional Singles Main Draw Championship to earn himself a berth into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. With the decisive victory, he joined an elite group of just 32 qualifiers with whom he will compete for the national crown.

Prior to his championship triumph, Lopez Villa reeled in three hard-fought victories in the round of 16, quarterfinal and semifinal matches. After receiving a first round bye, Lopez Villa defeated Virginia Tech’s Aaron Gomez 7-6(12), 6-1 in the round of 16. He then squeaked by Jordan Daigle of UVA in the quarterfinal with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(6) win. Later that afternoon, he ousted George Washington’s ninth-seeded Francisco Dias by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(1) in the semifinal.

This Thursday, six of the preseason top-10 ranked players will be on display in the men’s singles division. Additionally, the 32 qualifiers will represent 21 different colleges. While Lopez Villa will undoubtedly be surrounded by some of the nation’s top talent this weekend at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, none of the returning competitors have advanced beyond the quarterfinal round in previous years.

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